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Topic : 01/29 Extreme Weight with the Doctors

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Created on : Friday, January 25, 2008, 01:18:26 pm

Author : DrPhilBoard1

The Doctors are in the house! Dr. Phil’s team of medical experts, including OB-GYN Lisa Masterson, family therapist Dr. Tara Fields, pediatrician Dr. Jim Sears, plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon, and E.R. physician Dr. Travis Stork, come together to address some weighty topics. How many times have you tried to shed pounds but failed? Obesity in America is one of the fastest-growing epidemics. First, meet Kevin, a father and husband who weighs over 700 pounds and spends 95 percent of his day in bed. Cameras follow him on his first-ever plane trip, and you won’t believe what it takes to get a man of his size to the Dr. Phil studios. Will the journey pay off, or is this self-proclaimed food addict beyond help? Then, Alfreda was at one time considered obese at 350 pounds, but after bariatric surgery, she now weighs 175. Instead of feeling overjoyed at her dramatic weight loss, Alfreda struggles with rolls and rolls of extra skin. Can she get the body she wants by going under the knife? The Doctors speak candidly on these stories and the top health news of the day. Get in on the discussion!

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kevin's show

the show about kevin's weight brought tears to my eyes. i'm his cousin and grew up with him .i just wanted to say thanks to dr. phil for helping him . i talked to him on the phoneafter the show was on i just told him to be positive and keep his attitude up and never let your guard down.

I did it!

I have fought with weight my whole life (and losing) yes I am an emotional eater. Stressed? eat Happy? eat? Being in a wheelchair and not able to exercise makes it even harder to lose, but even more important. In my travels, I notice that many people in wheelchairs are overweight. I have had success with Weightwatchers, but now at 50, I'm even having trouble with that. Hmmmmmmm, what to do?

Hi,

I am (last week) 3 months post-op from my WLS (Weight Loss Surgery). My surgery was on 10/18 and I weighed 305. As of last week on my 3 month "surgiversay" I have lost SEVENTY pounds. I would do it again in a nanosecond. I am LIVING life! I'll be 50 in August and I too, have fought weight for most of my life. I did every diet out there (including Weight Watchers several times) with success. But it never STAYED off.

Look into it. I have learned a lot from www.obesityhelp.com Not sure it's "legal" to post that here so I'm sure it will be removed if so.

Just get out there and RESEARCH a lot. Do your homework and ask tons of questions. I did that for a long time before making my decision...

01/29 Extreme Weight with the Doctors

I could indentify with Kevin and his problems. I'm a 53 year old mom who is morbidly obese and have quite a few medical problems(ie: diabetes, high blood pressure, severe arthritis). I've tried many different things and found that support of others seems to work the best. Weight Watchers worked very well until I lost my job then there was no money to go there. The weight slowly crept back on. But I keep trying because I want a life. It's very easy to let the depression get you down and food becomes your only friend, your only pleasure in life. Currently I'm struggling...any suggestions??

As

Do your homework and research! That's what I did. I joined a very active online forum www.obesityhelp.com and long story short, my WLS was 10/18. I was at 305. At my 3 week surgiversary last week I had lost 70 lbs.! I'm LIVING LIFE for the first time in years, and it's GRAND.

The Parasite Connection to Chronic Obesity

I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET THIS MESSAGE TO DR. PHIL AND TO HIS CHRONICALLY OBESE GUEST, KEVIN, AND HIS WIFE....AND TO ANYONE ELSE SUFFERING IN SUCH A WAY. CHRONIC OBESITY IS MALNUTRITION...THAT IS BAD NUTRITION...BAD EATING...AND PARASITES ARE A MAJOR REASON FOR THIS. PARASITES ARE ALL OVET THE GLOBE...YES ...EVEN IN N. AMERICA. THEY ARE IN THE AIR, WATER, FOOD, EACH OTHER, PETS, WILDLIFE, THE POO YOU STEPPED IN ON THE SIDEWALK AND TRACKED INTO YOUR HOUSE, VEGGIES, MEATS, FAMILY...THEY ARE EVERYWHERE...YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TRAVEL TO PICK THESE UP. PLEASE READ THIS AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY.

mY heart goes out to Kevin. He admits to having a serious food addiction and that he wants to live. How to write this simply and informatively...this is the challenge. I was 54 years of age, had to quit work due to foggy brain, rheumatoid arthritis and associated complications of mellitus (diabetes II). I took insulin several times a day and would have to refer myself as an insulin junkie at the time. I had lost my way...was crippled, unable to think and maniacally eating junk foods...which was not normal for me before 50 years of age. I lay on the couch dying, depressed, feeling trapped with my 5'4" frame swollen to almost 200 pounds. I knew I was dying and didn't have the wherewithall to deal with it and was unaware of the toll it was taking on my husband to watch me like this. To speed this up I will just say that in April, 2006, I was actually seeing sparkling lights when I chose to live and speed-dialed a friend who is a Dr. of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Naturopathy. She also operates the EPFX-SCIO biofeedback device which she brought to our home to help me. Look up this device on the internet...it is amazing. I remember them coming in then everything went blank. With this device, which was used to start detoxing me on the spot, I was able to retain life. She put me on a rigid detox diet of raw veggies, raw fruits (eaten separately), supplements, life regenerating green drink, liquid minerals (PMH marine plasma) and when I was well enough 3 parasite cleanses back to back. Parasites are everywhere and anyone who does not do cleanses has them..even you. she didn't tell me until over a year later that I had 2 tapeworms, liver and pancreas flukes (which promoted diabetes) and infestation of other varieties. When she arrived the fungus levels of my body were 78%!! and oxygen exchange at 64%, She was amazed I was still alive, as she told me much later. The parasites excrete acids as a waste product, fungus and parasites thrive in an acid body so they prospered and I went into diabetic acidosis and crippling rhrumatoid arthritis. The parasites need a heavily acid environment and they crave junk: sugars, meats, greasy foods, additives, chips, dairy, anything to feed them. I was starving while I mindlessly fed the parasites. This is the basis for chronic obesity in N. America...of this i am certain. Kevin says that he is addicted to food...at one point I said to my husband, "I feel like there is a monster in me demanding to be fed". Well, there was more than one monster. The parasites live on their hosts...they give nothing back...the 3rd world countries know about this and many do practise de-parasitation. those who don't end up with terrible conditions. Once the parasites in me were gone so was the compulsion to eat garbage food. It is almost 2 years later now and I conduct parasite cleanses every 6 months as does my husband. I am 122 pounds and have been for over a year. I no longer have diabetes and the rheumatoid arthritis is just about gone. I follow a very narrow path nutritionally but it is easy without the parasites. I am nutritonally stable and look about 10 years younger than my 57.5 years even with silver hair. If Kevin woud change to a detox diet and so about 6-7 parasite cleanses back-to-back I gaurantee that the insane cravings would back off and he would lose 20 to 40 pounds of fluid within the first 2 weeks. The body does what it can to preserve our lives and to protect the organs from the acid it packs fluid throughout the tissues so the acid will not erode it. When the body acids are neutralized through proper nutrition the water falls away. It is amazing!! I use an herbal product PARASAVE because the idea is to detoxify the system to promote continued life. Using drugs, of any kind including aspirin, tylenol, etc. is very acidifying. I have more info on YouTube under Emmisha. Look up parasites and diabetes. I am not promoting any products...just letting you know what worked for me and brought me back a quality life. Kevin, or anyone else, need not live in such a way...if you consider your self worthy of a quality life then throw out the sugar, coffee, soda, breads, goodies. fried foods, dairy, meats (unless organic) and be kind to yourself and those who love you.

Cogratuations!

I'm a 42 year old divorced woman who has one adult son. I began my journey in losing over 170 pounds in the past 16 months. I've gone from a woman who had to buy all my clothes from the internet and online clothing stores because even Lane Bryant's sizes were much too small for me, to a woman who is now buying clothes in the Misses department at Kohl's, Belk's and "normal" department stores. It's been an amazing transformation.

I've gone from being a morbidly obese woman who has heard all my life "what a pretty face I have", to being a woman who actually manages to turn a few heads. I've lost weight by sheer will, changing my life-style when it comes to food and how I view it, and exercising. I now view food as a source of fuel to survive, as opposed to a source of comfort or the center of entertainment. Exercising is not my favorite thing, but once I put my little Reeboks on, my workout clothes, and hit the ground doing nothing less than 2 miles a day it's a GREAT feeling. Less than two years ago I had to ask a stranger to go get my car in a hospital parking lot because I was unable to walk that far. My back was so bad from carrying around all that weight. Now I'm actually jogging and no more back problems.

Are there issues with hanging skin? Absolutely!!!!! I had beautiful "basketball legs" when I was younger. Now the shape is back, but the skin on my upper inner thighs resembles that of an elephant. My tummy is the same way. I look in the mirror and am realistic about my progress. But I'm scared and saddened by the hanging skin. If I ever get serious with a man again will I be able to let him see me with no clothes on? I don't know. The thought is more than horrifying.

I'm 5'9" and because I am reasonably attractive I do draw a little attention from time to time. But I can't let anyone get close enough because of my skin. But there is more to it than that. There is a huge psychological change that comes with this big change. I was used to being the wall flower socially when I was heavier. Now, at 42, I don't know how to handle social settings as well as most people. I'm certainly not at ease with ever being the center of attention.

I don't have any answers. But perhaps someday I'll be able to afford to have the outside fixed, while I continue working on the real part of me that matters, that's on the inside.

Carla

Little Rock, AR

Wow, you are an inspiration to us all! Congratulations on your weight loss and doing it all without surgery!

It's NOT the easy way out!

I was watching the Tues, 01/29/08 show about gastric bypass surgery. When I was 30, I had a full bypass surgery. That was a little over 4 years ago. On paper, I guess you could say it was a success. I lost 125 lbs. However, I have had numerous problems, including additional surgeries to repair complications, one of which nearly killed me.

I still have excess skin, probably about 20 lbs, which I would like to have removed, but due to the costs of the complications, I am unable to proceed with that right now.

I am really writing this because of a bigger issue. I truly believe that the root of most peoples weight problems is more psychological. I believe I had a true addiction to food. The reason I believe this to be true is due to my latest ordeal.

About a year after my bypass, I had to have orthopedic surgery which left me on morphine pain killers. I became extremely addicted to the pain medications given to me and was in active addiction for nearly 3 years. I hit a rock bottom, lost over $20,000 buying prescription pain killers to feed my addiction.

I did get help in a medical detox and am continuing with intensive out-patient sessions. I have been clean for 55 days now.

During my group and one-on-one sessions, I have learned that I traded one addiction (food) for another (prescription pain killers) when the gastric bypass left me physically unable to feed my primary addiction.

I just wish I could get my story out to people who are considering the gastric bypass. I also wish I had been given better direction from my medical doctor in dealing with a true addiction rather than put on a conveyor belt and shuffled through the bypass surgery with no aftercare.

Had I known then what I know now, I may have not had the surgery. Or, at the very least, I would have had more aftercare to prevent going back into an active addiction.

01/29 Extreme Weight with the Doctors

I'm sorry, but you don't get to be that big from genetics or anything else. It's too bad the guy has no life and has ruined his son's. Take a look at the wife. She admits she feeds him and his addiction. Why? Because she "doesn't want to fight with him so she gives in". Give me a break! I am disabled,but I am not obese. I do not sit around feeling sorry for myself because I am in pain 24/7. I do not sit and feed my face and do not have someone here making food for me. I am 50 years old and worked from the age of 14 to 47. I understand being overweight. I understand addictions. I do not have sympathyfor ANYONE who REFUSES to get up off their asses and chooses to sit there feling sorry for themselves. This guy has more excuses and rationalizations for why he is obese, than he has a desire to change. He will sit and whine and die. How sad when we have thousandsof children STARVING TO DEATH EVERYDAY in the U.S. to listen to a disgusting excuse of "addiction" when a child could survive for a month on what this guy eats in 2 days. I admire anyone out there who has changed their lives. This man was too much and not in your league. Fix me, fix me, fix me -- I don't WANT to fix myself so do it for me Dr. Phil! That's not how life works!

I know where Kevin is coming from

When I watched Kevin on the show today, I felt like I was watching myself up on that screen, just at a later time in my life. I don't weigh over 700 pounds, but at my heaviest I weighed in at 623 pounds. Up until a year ago I worked as a supervisor at a great job. I knew I wasn't in the best of health but my job made me walk alot and I did that with relative ease. It wasn't until after I fell, was deemed disabled, and could no longer fulfill my job expectations that I realized how far along I really was. I spent many weeks recouperating in bed and when I finally got up and around I had the worst pain in my lower back and my knees. Even to this day I don't get around that much. After a long fight with the insurance company and a law suit against them I was finally recently approved for the bypass surgery although, just like Kevin, they want me to loose some weight before I can get it. I have been eating less and doing what little exercise that I can having the physical limitations that I have and I am now down from 623 pounds to 552 pounds the last time that I checked. Hopefully, within the next few months I will be able to have the surgery and have that great tool to help me to get off of my back and back out of my house. Kevin hit it right on the head when he said that he had a bed and a bedroom. Sometimes I feel like this house is my everlasting tomb. Only I am fighting to get out of it... Keep it up Kevin... You spoke for obese people all over america when you went on the Dr. Phil Show. Lots of luck to you brother, and I hope to see you running down the beach sometime soon.

Tell The Whole Story

I'm new to the message boards, but I was so moved by today's show that I sent a message to Dr. Phil asking him to tell the whole story about weight loss surgeries. I've seen countless shows featuring people who want and need the surgery, and those who have recently had it, but never one that presented people post surgery by several years.

I had my stomach stapled in 1991, the older archiac version of seven rows of stainless steel staples. I opted for the process over the gastic bypass because the stapling didn't alter the natural digestive system. What they don't tell you about are the things people need to know to deal with what faces you later on. Your body eventually adjusts to the low caloric intake, and if you don't become an exercising fan, you are doomed to regain.

Before, I could point to the Big Macs and Fries I ate and know the reason, but now I barely finish half of my portions and I'm facing the same problem I had years ago. I didn't do it for vanity reasons, I did it for health, but I never realized that I would face habitual vomiting, diaharrea and have marital problems because I'm hesitant to leave the house for very long. Eating out is a nightmare, and I almost always end up in the bathroom.

Hopefully, Dr. Phil will see the value of presenting the patients side of the story, five to ten years out, rather than relying on the experts who do the surgery and don't experience the procedures first hand. Would I have the surgery again...probably because for the first time in a long time, I had self-esteem and I felt good about myself. It's a life-threatening procedure, and not a decision to make lightly. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford plastic surgery after my 100 pound loss, so I've still dealt with hanging skin and embarrassment. Now I'm afraid, I'll grow back into it.